Back To School: Girls Perform Better In Single-Sex School Environments. Why Don’t Boys?

Single-sex education has proven to be beneficial to girls for sometime now. From kindergarten through college, girls do well when learning in classrooms with just other female students. Yet when boys are placed in single-sex environments, they don’t exhibit the same results.

Aside from testing better, girls who attend single sex-insuitons are also more likely to try a variety of subjects regardless of what is conventionally considered a girls’ subject or a boys’ subject. Sue Dunford, headteacher of Southfield School for Girls in Kettering, observed to The Guardian that girls excel without boys in the classroom because they present a looming distraction when it comes to academics:

“It’s a question of confidence in the way girls develop. It’s cool to be very good at anything in a girls school – maths, sciences or physics. No one will ask why you’re doing a boys’ subject. Girls who lack confidence can thrive more in girls-only schools. We don’t have boys competing and distracting, so girls can really go for it.”

“Girls are less self-conscious in single-sex schools. They are certainly more confident and are much more likely to speak up for themselves and to volunteer to do things like sing a solo because they are less worried about what others, particularly boys, think of them.”

Gender bias in the classroom has been observed as a factor in girls scholastically doing better in single-sex learning environments. Although unconscious, teachers tend to call on male students more often and enforce gendered stereotypes regarding what subjects boys and girls perform well in. Such efforts by teachers, although not executed out of intention, can funnel boys and girls into specific subjects or tracks that don’t necessarily reflect all of the child’s strengths as students.

Janette Wallis, a researcher on a single-sex education study, told The Times that parents often dismiss the idea of educating their daughters in single-sex environments because it does not reflect the “real world.” She advised:

“But what this research shows is that many girls benefit enormously academically from a girls-only school,” she said. “It’s important that parents consider this when weighing up the pros and cons of co-ed versus girls-only schooling. Parents are fooling themselves if they dismiss this.”

“All the research shows single-sex schools are good for girls but bad for boys – both in terms of academic performance and socialisation. Girls seem to learn what the nature of the beast is if they have been to single sex schools whereas boys taught on their own seem to find girls more puzzling.”

“A boy who has never been beaten by a girl on an algebra test could have some major problems having a female supervisor,” she said.

The fact that single-sex learning may not work both ways raises even more questions for parents looking to ensure that their kids receive the adequate scholastic attention and encouragement regardless of gender. Boys and girls may absolutely learn and process material differently, but to ensure a suitable learning environment for both sexes, more study is needed on these gender differences.